Layer cake holder



L. M. ZELL LAYER CAKE HOLDER Oct. 9, 1934.

Filed Nov. 7, 1933 gy o! 7 Patented Oct. 9, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT FRFICE LAYER CAKE HOLDER Lucile Mullikin Zell, Baltimore, Md.

Application November 7, 1933, Serial No. 697,051

6 Claims. (01. 912) i This invention relates to certain new and use- Figure 4 is a vertical longitudinal sectional ful improvements in layer cake holders. View of the cake holder with the centering pin The primary object of the invention is to proprojecting perpendicularly therefrom and show- I vide a holder for the layers of a cake for cening the iced layers of a cake centered by the pin; 5 tering the layers while coating or icing the same. and

In the icing of layer cakes when the coating Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of or icing is in a relatively soft or semi-fluent conthe pin showing the projectable cake testing wire dition and when the layers of the cake are of employed in the baking of a cake. varying depths adjacent opposite side edges, con- Referring more in detail to the accompanying siderable difficulty is experienced in preventing drawing, there is illustrated a cake holder adaptsliding or shifting movements of the superposed ed for the support of cake layers during the icing layers relative to the lower layers of the cake of the layers and to retain the layers from reladuring the coating or icing operation and while tive sliding movements during the icing and the icing sets and an important object of this insetting of the icing of the layers. The cake holdvention is to provide a cake holder in the form er includes a pan 5 of general construction simiof a pan adapted to have a layer centering pin lar to an ordinary layer cake pan and includes perpendicularly positioned centrally of the pan a bottom wall 6 having an upwardly and outfor piercing each layer centrally thereof as sucwardly extending side wall 7 terminating in the cessively placed thereon during the icing operausual reinforcing bead 8. An upstanding boss tion. 9 rises centrally of the bottom 6 of the pan 5 It is a further object of the invention to proand is provided with a threaded bore 10 for the vide a cake holder of the foregoing character purchase of threads on a layer centering Din. wherein the layer centering pin that is detach- The layer centering pin as shown in detail in ably engaged with the pan to project perpendic- Figure 5 comprises a tubular pin shank 11 taperularly and centrally therefrom with a retainer ing at one end as at 11a and externally threaded device for the centering pin for confining the pin at its other end as illustrated. A tubular bead within the pan when the pin is out of use and to 13 is internally threaded for engagement with prevent loss or misplacement thereof. the threaded end of the tubular pin and said A further object of the invention is to provide head has a forwardly extending externally a centering pin for cake layers wherein a cake threaded boss 12 receivable in the threaded bore testing wire is reciprocably housed within the 10 of the boss 9 as shown in Figure 4. A cake pin that is of tubular construction with the wire testing Wire is associated with the tubular pin projectable from the tubular pin for insertion in 11 and includes a wire 25 normally housed withcakes while being baked to determine whether or in the tubular pin and having a pointed end 26 not the cake has been sufiiciently baked, or the adjacent the tapered endlla of the pin. A pair stage of baking. of spaced lugs 27 project laterally of the inner With the above and other objects in view that end of the wire and extend into a longitudinal will become apparent as the nature of the invengroove 28 formed in the inner face of the tubution is better understood, the same consists in lar pin 11. Means is provided for projecting the the novel form, combination and arrangement testing wire 25 outwardly of the tubular pin and of parts hereinafter more fully described, shown retracting the same into inoperative position and in the accompanying drawing and claimed. includes a spiral feed screw wire 29 surrounding In the drawing: the pin and threaded between the lugs 27, the

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a cake holder inner end 30 of the feed screw wire freely exconstructed in accordance with the present intending through the end of the tubular bead 13 vention showing a marginally flanged pan with and made rigid with an operating disk 31 that the layer centering pin removably retained within in effect is swivelled at the outer end of the the pan; bead 13.

Figure 2 is a bottom plan View of the cake In the use of the cake holder, the pan 5 is holder showing the central opening in the botinverted as shown in Figure 4 and a paper or tom thereof for the threaded reception of the other sheet 16 is placed over the pan to be layer centering pin; later utilized in the removal of the iced layer Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional cake from the holder. The centering pin has view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1, showing the the shank portion 11 thereof passed through the '55 retainer device for the layer centering pin; threaded bore 10 from the underside of the pan and the threaded boss 12 of the centering pin bead is moved into threaded engagement with the bore 10 of the boss 9, the abutment 14 of the head 13 contacting the boss as shown in Figure 4 and when so disposed, the abutment end 15 of the head and the disk 31 are spaced upwardly of the side wall bead 8 so that the pan may set level upon a table or other support. The several cake layers 1'7, 18 and 19 are successively placed upon the centering pin shank 11 with each layer successively iced or coated and the superposed layers 18 and 19 are restrained from relative sliding movements, due to unevenness of layers or fluidity of the icing. The icing between the layers is designated by the reference character 20 and a coating 21 of icing completely covers the top layer 19 and the side edges of the several layers. The centering pin retains the several layers in position during the setting of the icing. The completely iced layer cake is removed from the holder with the aid of the paper sheet support 16 and the internal perforation resulting from the use of the centering pin is entirely hidden from View so that the beauty of the cake is not marred in any manner.

The centering pin is disengaged from the boss 9 and is attached to the pan 5 by a keeper device upon the bottom wall 6 within the side Wall 7. The keeper device includes a channel guide 22 of U-shape in cross section and rising from the bottom wall 6 to receive the pin shank 11 with the abutment end 14 of the head 13 of the centering pin engaged with the adjacent end of the channel guide 22. A resilient clip has one end 24 anchored to the bottom wall 6 of the pan and has its free end positioned in the path of movement of the centering pin and for engagement with the abutment end 15 and disk 31 to prevent accidental displacement of the centering pin from engagement with the pan 5. To remove the centering pin, it is only necessary to depress the free end of the spring clip 23 to position the same out of the retracting path of movement of the centering pin as will be obvious from an inspection of Figure 3.

When the device is employed for the centering of cake layers or the like, the testing wire is retracted into the pin shank 11, but when it is desired to test the baking of a cake, the disk 31 is rotated for operating the feed screw wire 29 for projecting the testing wire 25 outwardly of the tubular pin 11, rotation of the spiral feed screw wire being engaged with the lugs 27 that move through the groove 28 to prevent rotation of the testing wire and assure feeding thereof inwardly and outwardly of the tubular pin. When the testing wire is projected, the same is employed for piercing a baking cake layer or the like to determine when or not the cake has been sufliciently baked.

From the above detailed description of the invention, it is believed that the construction and use thereof will at once be apparent, it being understood that the cake holder and its centering pin may be of any configuration desired for the proper support of cake layers of different designs and the holder may also be used for the support of a loaf cake or the like while being iced or otherwise decorated.

While there is herein shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is nevertheless to be understood that minor changes may be made therein Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. A cake holder comprising a pan having an opening centrally of the bottom thereof and a pin adapted to be inserted in the opening and project upwardly of the bottom of the pan, said pin being of tubular formation, a cake testing wire within the pin and means for projecting the wire from the pin.

2. A cake holder comprising a pan having an opening centrally of the bottom thereof and a pin adapted to be inserted in the opening and project upwardly of the bottom of the pan, and a keeper device for the pin carried by the pan, said pin being of tubular formation, a cake testing wire within the pin and means for projecting the Wire from the pin.

3. In a cake holder of the character described, a pan having a threaded opening centrally of the bottom thereof and a pin having a threaded portion adapted to be engaged in the threaded opening and project upwardly of the bottom of the pan, said pin being of tubular formation, a cake testing wire within the pin and means for projecting the wire from the pin.

a. A cake holder comprising a pan having an opening centrally of the bottom thereof and a pin adapted to be inserted in the opening and project upwardly of the bottom of the pan, said pin being of tubular formation, a non-rotatable testing wire slidably mounted in the tubular pin and a spiral feed screw wire for projecting and retracting the testing wire.

5. A cake holder comprising a pan having an opening centrally of the bottom thereof and a pin adapted to be inserted in the opening and project upwardly of the bottom of the pan, and a keeper device for the pin carried by the pan, said pin being of tubular formation, a non-rotatable testing wire slidably mounted in the tubular pin and a spiral feed screw wire for projecting and retracting the testing wire.

6. In a cake holder of the character described, a pan having a threaded opening centrally of the bottom thereof and a pin having a threaded portion adapted to be engaged in the threaded opening and project upwardly of the bottom of the pan, said pin being of tubular formation, a non-rotatable testing wire slidably mounted in projecting and retracting the testing wire.

LUCILE MULLIKIN ZELL. 

